St. Landry democrat. (Opelousas, La.) 1878-1894, 1887-06-25
CURRENT TOPICS.

The Henry Georgeites in New York
have been greatly excited over the re-
fusal of William O'Brien, the editor of
United ireland, to show himself at the
monster demonstration gotten up in his
honor by the Labor party in New York
city. Mr.. O'Brien's objections were that
John McMackin, one of Georges trusted
was to preside at the meet
ings, he having acted In q similar
capacity at meeting in the Cooper
Institute few days before which
was addressed by the dynamiter lyman,
the notorious No. of the Irish Invinci-
bles, who are charged with planning the
Cavendish-Burke murders in Phoenix
Park, Dublin. Besides, Mr.. O'Brien took
the position that he could not be ex-
pected to give support to Henry George
and his theories. On the other hand, it
is averred by Father McGlynn and others
that Mr.. O'Brien was captured by the
"Kid-gloved' Catholics of the metropo-
lis and induced to snub the Labor party
Few people outside of the circle of con-
tention will be likely to doubt that
O'Brien acted wisely in keeping the Irish
cause, as represented by him, out OF
New York local politics. Moreover, his
association with Henry George would
not have been palatable to his home con-
stituency. To no people in the world
can Henry Georges land theories be
more detestable than to the Irish. What
they are yearning, suffering and fighting
for is that the soil shall belong to the
man who tills it, while Henry George
proposes to extinguish all Individual
ownership of land.
x*x
TheIslando of Cyprus, which had beenpro-
visionally administered by England since
June, 1873, and which has now become
an absolute dependency of that country,
by formal cession by Turkey, is the most
eastern island of the Mediterranean, be-
ing only sixty-fve miles from the Syrian
coast, while on the north it approaches
within forty-four miles of Asia Minor.
Its length is about 140 miles, and breadth
from fifteen, at the northeastern extrem-
ity, to forty, the total area being 3,5e4
miles. The population in 1881 was 1885,
173. Only one-fourth of the inhabitants
are Mohammedans, the rest being mainly
connected with the Greek church. The
island is fertile and rich, though the fire.
quent drouth shrinks its principal stream,
the Pedia, to mere rill and compels the
inhabitants, the waters of the wells being
brackish, to have recourse to cisterns
Minerals abound, including copper and
precious stones, though the mines have
hitherto been sadly neglected. In old
times the wine of Cyprus enjoyed wide
vogue, but as the population has fallen
from 100000 in Venetian times to its
present low figure, SO the wine produc-
ton has fallen off from 100000 gallons
to 100000. The island has one splendid
port-Famogosta, the Arsinoe Of the an
cients-which, though so choked with
filth as only to afford anchorage for a
few small craft, might be restored to its
prominence under the old Venetian rule,
where hundreds of vessels rode within
its roadstead at ease and in safety.
~
There are two ways of looking at the
liquor question: One is that alcohol is
an accursed thing and its use always evil,
no more to be tolerated in small or
moderate degree than murder or theft.
The other view is that alcohol is no more
accursed or evil in itself than chalk,
cheese, strychnine, quinine, beef or
cabbage. It is chemically identical in
constitution with sugar and starch, save
that the constituent elements are COM
bined in different proportions. 1t is,
however, vastly different in its proper
ties, and it has peculiar and powerful
effect upon organic functions. The
harm that may be produced by it does
not, however, lie in the alcohol, but in
the use 1t is put to. According to the
former of these two views of the case
the only course to take with respect to
LIQUOR is to destroy it altogether. Not
only its sale, but its manufacture, should
Je prohibited. From the other point
of view the question of expediency is
everything. If it is the abuse OF liquor
that is sought to be prevented, then the
measure of the value of legislation on the
subject is the extent of its efficiency
These opposing views Of public duty
tend to neutralize action and enable the
LIQUOR interest to hold the balance Of
power.
~
It is given out in the cable dispatches
that the three Emperors will shortly hole
another conference. The outlook fol
neace seems more favorable now thar
il appeared short time ago. France
and Germany will probably ultimately
fight out the battle for the posses
sion OF the Rhine provinces or Alsace
Lorraine may be neutralized. Neither
power can well afford to provoke hostili
ties at present. Russia has schemes for hel
territorial aggrandizement Id the Balkan
region, but she is more likely to depend
upon the working of the Pan .slav leaver
than upon military agencies for th'
:o ce Haustantinnr1e What she